The Leeds sideline erupts after Keaton Glass kicked the game-winning field goal with six seconds remaining in the quarterfinals game with Madison Academy. (The Birmingham News / Frank Couch)Leeds cranked the degree of difficulty up to maximum Friday night at Homer Smiles Field. The Green Wave surged past a grocery list of adversity to earn a 24-21 win against Madison Academy. When sophomore kicker Keaton Glass kicked a 29-yard field goal with six seconds left for the deciding points, it was just about the easiest hurdle of the night.

The Green Wave (11-2) is still alive in defense of its Class 3A state championship despite the loss of starting quarterback Rush Perkins to an ankle injury after the first series of the second half. They also gave up two touchdowns to the Madison Academy defense. There were also the 12 penalty flags for 70 lost yards.

They also had to hold down a dynamic playmaker in the Mustangs' Jordan Matthews. Matthews holds an SEC offer from Vanderbilt and just happens to be a second cousin of NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.

That's really the small stuff in how the Green Wave advanced to host Piedmont (11-2) in the state semifinals.

The big stuff was anxiously watching sophomore standout Ladarius Rogers carted off in an ambulance after an 18-minute delay with 6:41 left in the fourth quarter down 21-14. The Green Wave team took a knee and watched as he was fitted with a neck brace, placed on a crash cart, then a stretcher before being driven away in the ambulance. Rogers apparently had his neck twisted too far on a facemask penalty after recording the last of 127 yards on the night.

What did the Leeds team do after seeing a 1,000-yard rusher out of commission?

"Let's win this for Speedy," senior center Cody Ashley told his teammates, using the nickname of the splendid sophomore.

Those medical actions were purely precautionary. Leeds coach Keith Etheredge said Rogers told him something that further summed up the resolve of his team.

"He told me he was OK and felt fine and he was ready to go back in," Etheredge said.

"He said, 'I could have got up, Coach, and played some more,' when he was down there."

The Green Wave players did just what Ashley prodded them to do.

Daniel Faulkner was the reserve quarterback who led three scoring drives. Reserve Blake English was a perfect wham back in the Leeds' power-I. Backup sophomore defensive end Javiere Mitchell used his athleticism to force a late pass that safety Dedrick Forsythe intercepted at the Leeds 10.

"Our kids just believe they are supposed to win games like this," Etheredge said. "They do it every single night. If it's close, our guys just believe they are the ones that are going to pull it out."

Forsythe was a big believer. Not only did he collect two interceptions on the night, he sat and watched as the medical staff took care of his friend and running mate. The best word to describe him was simmering. Once play resumed, Forsythe began to run like a bull that had been placed in a holding pen for far too long.

The sophomore runner scored two touchdowns, running for 200 yards on 31 carries.

"I hated to see him down like that," Forsythe said. "I just had to do it for him and my team. I had to put my team on my shoulders and just run with it."